Tiny Ruins is New Zealand singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook. We've been sent her album Some Were Meant For The Sea and have been immediately captivated by her quiet, thoughtful, often sad songs. Hollie has a glorious voice too... one for when you're feeling a little sorry for yourself.
We like this video of her playing live forBalcony TV - looks like a lovely evening in Auckland...
When TOW got an email with 'Hey Ruth, it's Wendy James here' in the subject line, we had one of those 'I love my job' moments. The singer who made her name as the in-your-face front woman with Transvision Vamp at the tender age of sixteen, released her first 'solo' album at the end of last year. I Came Here To Blow Minds is her first as Wendy James, but there's been plenty since the heady days of T-V. An album written especially for her by Elvis Costello and records as Racine... now she's Wendy James and we here at TOW towers are digging her latest release.
We met in a Notting Hill pub one cold February afternoon to talk Americana, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, guitars, Paris and staying in control... click on the pic to have a listen:
Juliette Jackson is the singer fronting this three-piece who say that, whilst being inspired by These New Puritans, early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Queens of the Stone, Outkast, DOOM and the like, they're also adhere to the principles of Theo Van Doesburg and the De Stijl movement.
Hmmm, for us plebs at TOW we needed more information on that last one! Juliette says: "The DeStijl thing is mainly to do with minimalism and cutting out flab. We try to cut the flab out of our songs."
"We liked Theo Van Doesburg's idea of deconstruction, where he would paint something like a cow again and again, each time reducing the features more and more, until all that was left was what he considered were it's essential elements."
Gotcha. And, well, that's exactly what this band do. Juliette is backed by Sean Fennelly and Joss Lindey and the band's new track Dress Yourself As Someone Dead is a no nonsense, slightly creepy, rip-roaring rock tune - complete with a kind of rap by one of the boys, completely dead pan.
We'll be keeping an eye on this young London band!
Not usually a fan of bands described as "jerky, girly post-punk" by the NME, Call The Doctor have gone and surprised us. Take It Out is their new single out on the 21st March 2011 on Glasstone Records.
It's lead vocalist Patti Aberhart's crystal clear, distinctive and melodic vocals that draw you in. It's not the voice you'd expect to hear on a track like this, and we're sold.
Patti is 23 and from New Zealand and is an eyeful live, or so we believe. The band are looking to inject a whole lotta love back into the live music scene - they're setting out to make gigs fun again. Considering the last gig TOW went too was crammed full of people nodding furiously along to the music... we're up for that!
